4 emerging technologies to take the worry out of pregnancy

Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it’s also a worrisome one. So many things can go wrong, although in most cases the concerns of new parents will turn out to be unfounded. In a country like Israel, where the birth rate in 2016 was 3.11 per woman – the highest in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries – it’s no surprise that innovators are looking for technologies to take some of the worries out of pregnancy and give a greater measure of control to expectant mothers. As Dr. Josef Tovbin, chief of labor and delivery at Assuta University Hospital in Ashdod, put it: “I believe at-home solutions can save a lot of time and worry, and reduce the number of unnecessary hospital visits.” Below, we explore four interesting new ‘femtech’ solutions emerging from Israel.

HeraBEAT lets moms check fetal heartrate anytime, anywhere. Photo courtesy of HeraMED

When David Groberman’s wife was pregnant with their third child, concerns sent the couple scurrying from one medical appointment to the next. Their baby turned out to be fine. But the anxiety, stress and inconvenience led Groberman, a mechanical and biomedical engineer, to cofound HeraMED, whose first product is HeraBEAT, a smartphone-based fetal heartbeat monitor for home use. Expectant mothers can use HeraBEAT’s proprietary handheld Doppler ultrasound device to monitor their fetus’ heartbeat and share that data securely via a smartphone app on the cloud with an authorized healthcare provider – without leaving home or office.-- More...

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